Horror on High
by Junsui na Warui
Summary: [AU/VxM] A what if type story staging the gang in high school. Mostly focuses on Meryl's and Vash's relationship, but there's a bit of MxW! ^^ (Ch. 2 up! Short but sweet)
1. Prologue

Horror on High

By Junsui na Warui

A/N: Yes! I'm still alive. Imagine that. I haven't had any inspiration to finish my Eva fics, so I thought I'd switch to something I keep thinking about. Anyway, I'll try my best to keep the gang in character. Vash, Wolfwood, Legato, and Knives are all seniors. Meryl and Millie are juniors. Though all the guys still have their mad skills, witty personalities, and gorgeous good looks, none of them have their awesome powers. Sorry! Anyway, on with the show.

~*~*~*~

Prologue; Acquaintances 

It was early in the morning when Meryl Stryfe and Millie Thompson strolled into school with their books tucked in their arms and a cup of coffee in their hands. Today was rainy, one of those days you really didn't want to get up and go out in at all costs. Unfortunately, no matter what the weather may be, the first day of school was a real bummer.

Sighing, Meryl stopped in front of her locker and set her things down on the floor. They were pretty early, hardly anyone was in the hallways. But that was good, because Meryl hated it when she had to struggle just to keep her stuff from being kicked off into the sea of rapidly moving feet.

As soon as she got her new locker open, she filled it with the usual organization tools she'd need to keep her locker the cleanest in her High School. After sticking her magnetic mirror to the door, she pressed it shut and bent over to pick her things up. 

The only thing she found, however, was a pair of shiny black boots. 

Looking up, Meryl caught eye contact with the tallest man she thought she had ever seen. He had spiky blonde hair and was clad in a baggy pair of dark blue jeans, slimming white T-shirt, and had a silver earring in his left ear. He was beautiful.

Shaking her head, Meryl stood and dusted herself off before facing the man. Or at least, considering her height compared to his, facing him as much as she could. From this view point, she could see that _he _was the one who had picked up her belongings, but she was more concentrated on his gentle smile and the shade of his aquamarine eyes.

"Hello there, have we met?" The blonde-haired giant asked with a friendly tone.

Meryl wasn't sure where her voice was, but it sure wasn't with her at the time she needed it the most. "I.. I don't think so.." She managed to choke out, knowing it sounded _nothing _like her. 

Yet, he seemed to find it amusing, causing his smile to deepen as he leaned a little to hand her her belongings. "Well then, my name is Vash."

Meryl blinked slightly, taking her belongings from him. She silently wondered whatever happened to Millie as she remained staring up at the man named Vash. The man that was slowly making her feel uneasy by the moment. "Vash.."

He nodded and straightened, bringing a hand behind his head and laughing nervously. "Though, I'm also known as.." He took on a serious expression, his voice deepening to carry emphasis. "Vash The Stampede!"

A sweat drop gathered on Meryl's head as she watched him do various goofy poses all over the place in the empty hall. "Uh.. Mr. Vash?"

Vash stopped and somehow ended up standing right in front of her in that same position again. "Aw, gee, I'm not that great. You can just call me Vash."

"Well, Vash, it's been nice talking to you, but I have to go to class." She said in her usual tone, finally regaining her composure as she stepped to the side and past him, heading to her first period for the day.

Vash blinked and turned around, looking awestruck and somewhat disappointed. "Hey! Wait a sec! You're not gonna tell me your name! C'mon! That's cruel! Have a heart!" Noticing she wasn't listening, he hung his head. "Aw man.. I was sure I had it that time."

Chuckling was heard from behind Vash, and he felt a familiar hand pat his back in comfort. "There, there. I'm sure she'll come around."

Vash sniffled and looked up at the man, still slouched in defeat. "Ya think so, Wolfwood?"

Wolfwood nodded and laughed at him solemnly. "Did you not see the way she was taken aback by your approach? You've definitely gotten this one in the bag, needle noggin."

Vash immediately connected his fist with his friends head. "Who're you callin' needle noggin'?!"

~*~*~*~

Notes: Thought I'd add a little comical Vash and Wolfwood humor that I'm sure everyone loves laughing at. Hope a did a good job! 

Remember! Love AND Peace! \m/ ^_^ \m/ Of course, he crosses his fingers when he does that, doesn't he? X.x Hmm.. How about & ^_^ & .. Nah. That just looks retarded. Eh.. Anyway, I'll be off now!


	2. Chapter One

Horror on High

By Junsui na Warui

Disclaimer: Don't own Trigun, though I really wish they'd at least be generous enough to let me borrow Vash a few days. ^^ Though, the odds of that happening are a million to.. none. *Bawls*

~*~*~*~

Chapter One; The First of Many.

Meryl sighed as she jotted down the notes the Trigonometry teacher pointed out through his first-day-of-the-year lecture on the rules and supplies needed to pass the course. She already knew this was going to be one of the classes she'd hate because she not only saw no familiar faces at all, but the teacher was incredibly boring. Lucky for her, though, that her seat was located in the back next to a window.

Looking off to the side, Meryl watched the trees dance in precise rhythm with the summer winds. The long branches that swayed from the willow tree a distance away gleamed in the sunlight, reminding her of the man she had encountered before class.

The thought of him made her furrow her brows in frustration. She hardly knew the guy and she was already falling for him? For all she knew, he could have been just playing her to get a piece of ass. That wasn't uncommon in her High School, she had many friends who had fallen for hot guys with the charm of a real 'gentleman,' who later high-tailed it to the next new beauty that had strolled into their view. 

"Or rather, their pants." Meryl mumbled grimly to herself.

She knew she had a major trust issue when it came to guys. Millie, as good as her intentions may had been, spent the majority of Freshman year trying to get her set up with someone. Of course, it always went sour in the end. 

"Miss Stryfe?"

But there was something about that ma-- Vash-- that she just couldn't seem to ignore.

"Miss Stryfe."

Was it his eyes? The way his gentle gaze locked onto her as if he were cradling her in his arms?

"Miss Stryfe!"

Or maybe the way his smile made her freeze, and his friendly tone ringed through her ears even now.

"MISS STRYFE!"

"Huh?!" Meryl immediately snapped out of it, sitting straight up with the paper she had been writing her notes on stuck to her cheek.

The teacher cleared his throat, looking down at her with his chin cocked upward in a disapproving manner. "Miss Stryfe, sleeping in this class is unacceptable."

"I-" Meryl began, then cleared her throat and bowed her head as she pulled the paper off. "I'm sorry, Mr. Aldahoff, it won't happen again."

Obviously pleased, Mr. Aldahoff trotted back to the front of the room and continued his lecture all the way till the bell rang.

~*~*~*~

"Gee, Meryl, I can't believe you were caught sleeping in class." Millie said, looking at her friend with a smile. 

"Yeah yeah, don't get used to it." Meryl muttered as they walked side by side to their next class. 

Millie looked down at her shorter friend and brought up her hand in a knowing gesture. "Don't feel too bad about it, Meryl, I heard Mr. Aldahoff is one the most boring teachers in the school." She whispered as they shifted through the throng of people. 

"You don't have to whisper, Millie. It's not like he can hear you."

"I know, but I still think it's kinda mean." She smiled a little more and brought her hand behind her head in the same gesture Vash had done. "Big Sis always said it wasn't nice to talk about people behind their backs."

Meryl managed a small smile at her bashful friend, though her mind was elsewhere. "Did she?"

"Mhm." Millie nodded, and then suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah, who was that man you were talking to earlier, Meryl?"

Blinking, Meryl suddenly felt her cheeks begin to turn red with a warming sensation, and she slowed in her pace a little. She felt foolish acting like such a little school girl, but the harder she tried to control it, the more she seemed to blush.

Millie looked at her friend oddly. "Meryl?"

Meryl shook her head and then put on her best 'I don't know what you're talking about' face. "I don't know, some goofy guy that tried stealing my stuff."

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you Miss?"

Hearing that voice behind her, Meryl froze. It was Vash, and she knew it.

Millie, totally unaware of what Meryl was so worked up about, turned and smiled at the tall blonde man. Raising a hand, she spoke solemnly. "Hello."

Vash mimicked her gesture. "Hello." He then looked down at the frozen young woman of his obvious desire. "Is she okay?"

"Huh?" Millie blinked and waved her hand in front of Meryl's face. "That's strange.."

Finally, Meryl's eyebrow twitched in anger, and she turned around to glare up at Vash. "What do you want?"

Vash backed up a bit, his hands coming up as if he were about to be arrested, or telling someone not to shoot. "Woah.. No need for violence, we're all friends here." He smiled innocently at her.

Completely frustrated by seeing the man for the second time in no less than two hours, she turned on her heel and began hurrying off to her next class. "Come on Millie, let's go."

Millie looked after her friend a moment, then looked back at the blonde-haired stranger. "I'm really sorry about this, she's really not that mean." With that, she waved to the man and hurried after her Meryl. 

Vash stood there with a smug grin on his face while he watched the two girls scurry off to their next class. Suddenly, he had realized that he himself needed to get to class, and zipped off down the hall in the opposite direction, panicking. 

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" He said as he took a sharp turn and slid on the slick surface of the floors before catching himself and taking off in a mad sprint. "Can't be late again!"

~*~*~*~

After third period, Meryl and Millie made their way into the cafeteria with their notebooks in one hand and their lunches in the other. They took a seat at the first empty table they could find, which was tucked back in the corner of the large room. Dumping their luggage onto the table, they began scrounging through their lunches for whatever it was they wanted first.

Millie pulled out two pudding snacks, a small pack of powdered donuts, and a thermostat full of that tea she always loved to drink. Meryl just pulled out a regular PB&J sandwich and a bottle of water.

"You know, Meryl." Millie said as she stuffed a spoon full of chocolate pudding into her mouth. "That guy we saw earlier looked pretty nice." She said, the pudding making it sound a bit more baffled.

"Ha! He's just another bum!" Meryl declared defensively, taking an angered bite out of her sandwich. After chewing and swallowing, she continued. "A regular thug, if you ask me."

Millie looked unaffected by Meryl's sudden change in behavior. "I don't know Meryl, I still say he looked nice." She smiled warmly. "And I think he was interested in you."

"B-ph.. What?!" Meryl dropped her sandwich and balled her fist up in frustration. "Come on, Millie, don't be silly. It's just the first day, I don't want to get involved with petty relationships anyway. I'd like to graduate with Honors instead."

Millie simply giggled at her friend's embarrassment and continued eating her pudding. For the remainder of the lunch period, they ate in silence, occasionally exchanging first day gossip.

~*~*~*~

Finally, the last bell had rang, and Meryl gathered up her belongings as fast she could, heading out into the hallway and towards the exit. The traffic of the students crowding into the hallways after the last bell was surprisingly lax compared to what she remembered of last year. Maybe it was because, after being in High School for two years, you aren't really in that much of a rush to get home.

"Hey Meryl! Wait up!" 

Meryl slowed to a stop just in front of the first set of doors to the exit to wait for her freakishly tall friend. "Hey Millie, how was last period?" 

Millie stopped in front of Meryl, bending over a little to catch her breath. After calming down somewhat, she straightened and began walking alongside Meryl outside of the building and into the parking lot. "It was fine, but I'm sure glad it's over."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Only a hundred something more days to go until next summer, too!" Millie smiled with delight as they made their way to their cars. "Then we'll be Seniors!"

Meryl only nodded as unlocked her car. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Millie."

"You too." Millie smiled and then slipped into her car, starting the engine, backing out, and driving off home.

Tossing her stuff in the back, Meryl got in and shut the door, but remained sitting there with her eyes closed a moment. Today had been one of the longest days of her life, and seeing that goofball twice in one day didn't make it any better. Finally, deciding she'd rather not take the chance of running into Vash again, she started the engine, pulled out, and drove off into the rapidly growing traffic.

~*~*~*~

A/N: The prologue was pretty short, so I had to make up for it with this. More chapters to come! Ciao! Please tell me what you think! ^^ (Oh yeah, and I hope I haven't gone out of character with Meryl.. I feel like I have. X.x;)


	3. Chapter Two

Horror on High

By Junsui na Warui

****

A/N: Woo! Thanks for all the wonderful comments and suggestions! I'll definitely keep each of them in mind for every chapter (And actually, I was planning on having a party just to make Millie get drunk! ^^ I love that scene!)

****

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Trigun. If I did, would I be sittin' here writing this? Don't think so!

~*~*~*~

Chapter Two; The 'miss' has got to go.

It was nearly the end of the first week of school, and Vash was still no closer to finding out her name than he was getting into Harvard. He wasn't sure what his fascination with the short, raven-haired girl was, but it had been nagging at him since the day he happened to stumble upon her at her locker.

At first it was merely a joke just to pick up on a date, like he usually did. But this was different somehow. When he saw her it was like a beam of light shot out from the sky, illuminating her in a golden aura so that he may see every inch of her goddess-like beauty. 

"Vash, are you talking to yourself again?" Wolfwood asked his friend, obviously awakening him back to reality. 

"Huh?" Vash shook his head, finding himself standing in the middle of the hallway with his hands clasped together in a manner of prayer. "I.. uh.. this.." He began to blush somewhat, bringing his hand behind his head and laughing nervously as he noticed that nearly every student in the hallway at that time had gone silent and was staring at him like he was clad in a pink frilly tutu with a matching bow and dancing slippers. 

Wolfwood brought a hand up to remove his shades, looking at Vash awkwardly. "I thought I was the priest of the group?"

"Eh.." Vash smiled sheepishly. "I was just.."

Wolfwood leaned forward to look Vash directly in the face. "Are you hiding something, Vash? Because if you are, you aren't doing a very good job."

Vash merely laughed again. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He looked around at the crowd still gathered around them, looking for a way to escape. 

"Uh huh." Wolfwood straightened, slipping his folded shades into his shirt pocket. "Well folks, I'd suggest you run along before Vash The Stampede lives up to his name." He shifted his gaze back to the man he was speaking of, only to find a piece of paper with a all too familiar doodle scribbled on it left in his place. 

"Err.. That good for nothing needle noggin.."

~*~*~*~

Vash leaned up against a locker panting and trying to catch his breath. He brought his arm up to wipe away some of the perspiration that had gathered at his brow. 

"Phew.. that was a close one." He said to himself, smiling and resting his head back against the cool surface of the lockers. "I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut."

"And how to stay out of other people's way." A stern voice commanded (rather than stated), causing Vash to open his eyes, his mouth partially open in surprise. It was the short raven-haired girl.

"W-wha?" He startled, not really sure what she meant. 

Meryl continued to glower at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "You're on my locker." She said hastily, obviously not too happy to see him.

"Oh.." Vash blinked as her words sunk in, but he didn't move. Instead, he began to grin as an idea dawned on him. 

Meryl fought the urge to clobber him right then and there, her temper beginning to get the better of her self control. "Well, aren't you going to move?"

"Nah. I like it here, so I think I'll just stay and chill for a bit." His grin widened as he saw her slowly becoming even more angered with him. "That alright with you?" He asked mockingly, but gently. 

Meryl's eyebrow twitched with anger and she took a threatening step towards him. "I'm warning you, Vash."

"Are you?" He brought his arms behind his head and crossed them, relaxing against the lockers and making it look as if he were rather comfortable. "How many do I get?"

That was it. Meryl's self control completely went out the window as she charged forward with her fist aimed for his stomach. Instead of connecting to her fists' destination, however, her fist landed right into the palm of his hand. She couldn't believe it, this airhead had actually caught her punch!

Vash smiled at her look of utter disbelief, leaning downward so they were somewhat at eye level. "Now that's not very nice, you could have really hurt me."

Meryl couldn't say anything. Her mouth was open, but nothing came out. _Who the hell is this man?_

"I'm Vash, of course." He cupped his hand around her own, gently forcing it from it's original balled up fist. "May I ask who you are?" He smiled gently at her, looking into her eyes directly for the first time.

"I.." Meryl stumbled upon her words, somewhat lost in his eyes and the way his warm, large hand held hers gently, but firmly at the same time. It was mind boggling how this air headed lunatic managed to take her breath away for the second time in the course of a few days. 

Finally regaining her composure, Meryl pulled her hand from his grip and stepped back, her stern features returning. 

"I'm Meryl. Meryl Stryfe." 

~*~*~*~

A/N: I know that was kinda short, but I thought that'd be a nice way to close up this chapter. Plus, I've been stumbling upon ideas for the next few chapters and they're all kinda spread about into "maybe's" and "what if's" at the moment. Sorry for the wait, I'll have them out soon. ^^ Ciao! Thanks for reading.


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